Thanks to all who served National Day of Prayer

May 1, 2008 reached a new level in Nevada as we continue to build on the work that went before. This year both Governor Jim Gibbons and his wife, First Lady Dawn Gibbons, helped to raise a shield of prayer over Nevada at the North/South Capitol Event at noon. Mrs. Gibbons read the Proclamation at Grant Sawyer State Building while Governor Jim Gibbons read the Proclamation at the Capitol in Carson City.

Many churches registered events for the National Day of Prayer in more than half our counties. Each one took a place on the wall to protect our freedom and unity. We celebrate each home and small gathering who set aside time today to seek God for the land. We are grateful for the leaders who took on the challenge of planning public gatherings at government centers Thank you who managed Prayer Breakfasts and Luncheons for this special day of nurturing the delicate plant of democracy which cannot long endure without cultivating the roots of our form of government in the Judeo-Christian faith of our fathers. Our diversity is a blessing but our capacity legally to welcome and incorporate the stranger is tied to the teaching of Jesus and the prophets. Loving God and one another is not a product of our contemporary education but of the embedding of God's word in our laws, institutions, and our history. When it is practiced, as we saw on May 1, it gives us new hope and courage. But we must maintain the watch "without ceasing."
The Mayor of Las Vegas, Oscar Goodman, and Pastor Troy Martinez, ably assisted by Neighborhood Services and Metro PD, showed that when we connect to serve without regard to religion, then we can unite to pray with those of like precious faith without offending. Such a feeling of possibility for our future comes from our shared dependence on God on this very special day--the First Thursday of May. Next year, bring your neighbors and join us.